At the local job boards and on the local jobs site, there's an ad that sticks out from the rest of the mundane. It has a jackal holding a standard pole with a blue standard flag as a header and reads:

Psychopomp and Circumstance, LLC.
Looking for a job? Super? Willing to do dangerous and sometimes complicated tasks that would make any pro wrestler cry?
Well, we may have a job for you!

Psychopomp and Circumstance, LLC. is a new transportation and retrieval service catering to the Greater Titan City area. We are looking for FT/PT Receptionists, Movers/Truck loaders, Delivery Drivers, and Security. We are bonded and insured.
Great Pay
Health Insurance benefits
Flexible hours
And much more!

Interested? Please email

or text the number below for more info.

The number was printed like those leaflet flyers normally had. If anyone emailed or texted the number, the reply would be within an hour, asking them to bring a resume to the Black Cat Teahouse in Clarkstown on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10am to 3pm so an interview could be conducted. It also said to look for the talking hawk.

Every Tuesday and Thursday at 10am, a woman that looked like a catgirl and a big, brown harris hawk would fly in, order a tea, and wait. The woman looked about 5'7", with an athletic build, tanned skin, green eyes, black ears and tail, medium length chestnut brown hair, and a warm smile. She wore a white halter top with gold trim, a pleated white knee-length skirt with gold trim and belt, a gold chain with a silver ankh hanging from the belt, white mid-calf boots with a faience blue cat silohuette and just enough heel to make sexy be practical. Her accessories (of which there were many) consisted of gold Eye of Ra cuffs, a gold lotus armband, a gold collar with a red, white and black enamel-looking tag in the shape of a goddess, a gold and citrine winged scarab circlet, gold earcuffs, Eyes of Heru eye makeup and a big ankh staff with the loop in the shape of a stylized cat's head that shook like a maraca whenever she moved it.

Today was such a day, as she sat with the hawk inside the store, enjoying a tea and awaiting any hits that may've been directed to her. It hadn't been too long since they'd gotten the papers through and started needing the help, so she was hoping that someone would respond.

At 10 til 11:00 AM, Sam Beckett approached the Black Cat Teahouse. As he reached for the door handle, the door flew open and out marched a positively massive individual who appeared to be made of nothing but muscle. As he passed Sam, he could be heard muttering about some "smartass bird" and Sam suppressed a laugh. Sounds like this is the right place he thought to himself as he entered.

Anybody who looked up would see a well-built, handsome, young man in his early 20's, with short sandy blonde hair, warm grey eyes, and a disarming grin. He was dressed in a faded pair of Chucks, well-worn jeans, and a grey fitted T-shirt.

As Sam looked around the room, he very quickly spotted the cat-girl and the hawk perched above her. He went to the counter and ordered some hot green tea with a cinnamon stick, then approached the duo.

"Good morning."

—

Putting yourself in another persons shoes emotionally is something that everyone has to experience eventually. It's part of learning to be a human being. Roleplayers do it for fun.

"Morning," Said the woman in a silky alto. "Em hotep," the hawk said. "Are you here for an interview?"

The woman gave the hawk an annoyed look. "You always get to the point, don't you?" Looking back to the man, she stood up and smiled slightly while holding out her hand to shake his. "I'm sorry about his triteness, he can get a little testy. I'm Senet-Ra and this snarky hawk is Edfu. We're the owners of Psycopomp and Circumstance. I'm assuming you were looking for a job with our company?" Her tail swished a bit and her staff hovered in the air while Edfu, roosting on a chair's crossbar, peck-slurped on a iced coffee.

Sam took her hand and shook it firmly and then looked over at Edfu, or more specifically, his talons. He made eye contact with the hawk and simply smiled, then looked back at Senet-Ra. "It's a pleasure to meet you both."

"You assume correctly, Ms. Ra. I can fulfill roles as a Mover / Loader or as Security." he said as he reached into the folder he was carrying and pulled out his resume. it detailed that he'd held down steady work in several jobs, most for a year or more, for the past eight years. He'd spent time as a stocker, a courier, a construction worker, and a short stint as a model. As they read the resume, he took a seat and sipped his tea, patiently waiting for them to finish.

—

Putting yourself in another persons shoes emotionally is something that everyone has to experience eventually. It's part of learning to be a human being. Roleplayers do it for fun.

"It's good to meet you, Mr. Sam," Senet-Ra said as she looked over his resume and sat down. "You're resume looks good, but seeing as you're applying for the Mover/Loader and Security positions, I will warn you that those are our most combat heavy positions. It's been mainly just me and Edfu out on jobs until we've started gaining a name for ourselves and the jobs were becoming more numerous than we can handle on our own. We'd like to get to know you a little bit, in personality and capability, before we consider employment. We work with some very picky clients at times, so secrecy is a must on some jobs. We'd both prefer for our employees to not want to steal from the company and our clients, as it hurts our business. We've worked with both sides in San Francisco, but our current client base here in Titan City has been leaning more towards being on the heroic end of things."

"Should I test him first or do you want to get an idea on his personality first, Senet?" Edfu asked.

"I'm getting to that! I think a conversation would be easier first if he wasn't injured," She said, looking annoyedly at Edfu. "So, Mr. Sam, what kind of qualities do you hope to bring to our company and how do you think you'll mesh with our current team?"

"Also, what kind of powers do you have to defend yourself with, Smiley?" Edfu asked. "I don't want to have someone who can't handle himself out there in battle when we come up against someone who wants what we're transporting or retrieving."

"As far as qualities go, I'm a hard worker. I'm trustworthy and honest. I've been told I'm easy to work with and train. As for meshing with your current team, I don't think I can judge that until I've actually had time to get to know them and work with them."

He looked over at Edfu and raised an eyebrow. "Smiley, huh? Okay, I can dig it. As for my powers..." he held his arm over the table and a dull amber energy armor formed around his hand and lower arm.

"I underwent mutant testing and the guys in labcoats called it a 'Psychokinetic Energy Matrix' that I can manipulate in a variety of ways. It normally encloses my entire body, but I didn't want to draw more attention than what you two are already managing. It's pretty tough. In testing, I shrugged off everything from fists to an anti-tank rocket. When my abilities manifested, I also gained enhanced physical stats. My strength, stamina, and durability are all at peak human levels. My agility and dexterity are superhuman, about 150% better than peak human levels. I'm assuming you'll also want to know what my mobility and offensive abilities are?

—

Putting yourself in another persons shoes emotionally is something that everyone has to experience eventually. It's part of learning to be a human being. Roleplayers do it for fun.

"Those are very good qualities, much better than the musclehead that came through here earlier," Edfu said. "On the battlefield, you've gotta be able to think on your feet, not just hit anything that moves. Senet's lucky her spells are selective of their targets, especially that big one..."

"You're lucky I don't hit you with it," She said and leered. "Snarky Shemsu-heru..."

"Your mother wouldn't be too happy if you did. Anyways, if we were just looking for a sparring partner, we'd just hit the local supers gym. I think you're a good canidate, but I also like to see these things for myself." He looked to Senet and said something in a language that wasn't native to the area. She nodded.

"Speaking of the local supers gym, the nearest one has a sparring room. Edfu's wanting to see how you do against him once we're there. It'll help both of us make up our minds on whether we want to offer you the Mover/Loader position or Security. We've worked out a deal with the owner that we can test our potential recruits there for free if we do some equipment transport for him now and again," Senet said. "Shall we move over there?'

."Sure. we can head over right now, if you'd like." Sam answered, finishing up his tea and getting up to hand it to one of the barristas that was clearing a nearby table. He turned back to look at the pair, waiting for them to lead the way.

—

Putting yourself in another persons shoes emotionally is something that everyone has to experience eventually. It's part of learning to be a human being. Roleplayers do it for fun.

Senet nodded and took her and Edfu's now empty plastic cups and placed them in the nearest trashcan before opening the door for Edfu to fly out. She followed suit, casting a flight spell once out the door.

"We're heading to Brady's Supers Gym. It's neutral territory here in Clarkstown, so we may see some more of the stealing type over there. Watch your pockets," she said as her staff floated up to her back. "Do ya need me to go slow to show you the way or can ya keep up with a car on the freeway? I'm asking because it looks like Edfu's already taken off over there and it can be hard to catch up to him once he gets an idea in his head."

Sam smirked while looking up at her, then threw out a strand that passed a few feet from her shoulder and he shot past her, his armor forming around him. As he rapidly swung down the street, he began to close with Edfu. Just as the great bird came into sight, Sam cut a hard left and shot down a narrow alleyway filled with air-conditioning units, clotheslines, power lines, and pipes. He weaved, dodged, spun, slid, and flipped a complex path through the obstacles before emerging on the same street as Brady's.

As he approached Brady's, he dissipated his armor and dropped into an alley next to the building, then casually strolled out onto the sidewalk and walked up to the gym. He peeked his head in the door and got the cute receptionist's attention, smiling crookedly at her. "Hey there. Did a cat-girl with a big brown hawk come through here?"

—

Putting yourself in another persons shoes emotionally is something that everyone has to experience eventually. It's part of learning to be a human being. Roleplayers do it for fun.

With that oh, Edfu came flying through the open door with Senet-Ra not far behind. He circled the area before landing upon the receptionist's desk. "I saw that jerk's car on the flight over here. He won't want to leave the top down next time." the tone in his voice seemed to suggest a smirk.

"Hi Jessica," Senet said and landed. "we've got a potential today. Also, do you have to be so disgusting?"

"Well, would you preferred me to slash his tires? I had to do something for harassing her."

"Fine." he said and took off towards the men's locker room. The place looked very much like a 24 hour fitness, save the weights went up past what a normal human could do, the track was reinforced, the pool was deeper and instead of a big group classroom, there was a reinforced concrete room with a steel door. There were a few supers in costume and in athletic gear excersizing here and there, and one in the pool. Most of this could be seen from the front desk.

"Could I get you to sign in?" Jessica said and pushed a clipboard towards Sam with a paper that read "Senet and Edfu's trials" with the name, day/time, and email slots all blank. A pen sat in the clip.

A lean man was standing in the boxing ring. His opponent a heavily built... well something that resembled crystal for skin. The leaner man was taunting his oppoent. "Ey Kimmen, swings like that might take a school girl down but come now we ain't in public." The lean man danced around the larger bruiser. The one identified as Kimmen punched the lean man square in the chest. The man flew back against the ropes and bounced off them and onto the mat. "Serves ya right gyp, dancin around like a fool, told you to wear the protective gear."
The man on the ground started laughing, clearly in pain. He rolled over and stood up. "Kimmen, if you punched and softer me mum would have to take over for me. Speanin of mums" THWAP..... Kimmen floored the thinner man again.

Again he laughed. This time he stood up holding his head. "Kimmen me boy, no wonder that Lady Nova knocked you out two weeks ago, ya hit like a" 'THWAP" The thinner man went sailing over the ropes.

A woman sitting nearby looked at the man laying on the floor. "Stop being a jerk and fight him for real love." The man groaned on the floor. "But luv he 'its like a truck! I'm not fakin it hurts!" She didn't even blink "You are letting him hit you so I will nurse you back to health later.. My plans later require a healthy jackass of a husband." The man stood up. He pulled off his shirt. What parts of his skin wasnt covered in tattoos bore scars of many fights. "Triple or nothin Kimmen!" The crystal man nodded. "Ya saw it luv, triple or nothin."

"We got bills to pay Ian, knock his ass out."

Ian unwrapped his arms from the bandages. They glowed a faint green. Using his thumb he jabbed himself a few times in the neck and chest. The massive welts and bruises faded. "Ey Kimmen, my tun mate."

Kimmen was outside the ring before an eyeblink could happen. He was sprawled on his back out cold. Ian stood in the ring. The kinetic speeder was grinning ear to ear. "Thats $300 ya owe me Kimmen."

Ian looked over as the cat, bird and younger man walked in. He made a cat call at the woman. His wife groaned audibly.

—

Supporting how I can, Starting up a DA group for art, stories, and concepts to be collectedhttp://city-of-titans.deviantart.com/
Please join up if you plan to make or collect CoT related art.

Senet-Ra looked over at the boxer guy and rolled her eyes. She hadn't seen him in here before, but then again, she usually didn't come in this early to practice. "Do ya do this to every woman that walks in the door, or just because of my fuku?" She asked, trying to only be annoyed and not cast a spell at him.

" 'ey don' get all twisted luv. Mearly appreciatin a fine set of legs!" The seated woman threw her water bottle at Ian with a mock scowl on her face. " 'ey woman! You know me eyes are just for you" Ian ducked the water bottle.

"Word o' mouth says you two are payin hard cash for a bit o' grit work. When ya find yerse;f 'gaisnt a wall gimme a call luv." Ian flicked out a card. It shot across the room and came to a twirling stop on the reception table. It simply said 'Candle Light' and had a local number.

Ian climbed down as his wife got up and walked to him. She kissed him and bit his lip just a tad making him wince. "Go wake up Kimmen, can't get your winnings unless he is awake."

Ian walked over to the large man. He struck the man three times. Instead of causing damage some of the glow was transferred from Ian to Kimmen. Kimmen sat up wide awake. "Whoa, feels good, you don't hit hard, but that was alot... how many times did you hit me?" Kimmen grinned he felt rejuvenated, energized. He took out a wad of cash and handed it to Ian.

Ian didn't count it, just pocketed it. "34 mate, lemme know if you ever want a rematch." Ian scopped up his wife and threw her over a shoulder. "Le's go woman!" She laughed and fake pounded on his back as the duo went by the reception desk. The woman looked at the cat-girl, her face serious. "He works for cash, he has never lost a client, call if you need... I'd prefer he work for capes than villains." Ian smacked his wife's bum. " 'ey! They pay to, and you want that suit fer yerself an the boys. Monies money!"

Ian and his wife left out the front door. Ian swung her down so he was carrying her in just his arms. He started to run and was quickly down the road. He was running slow to not muss Sara's hair... or their would be hell to pay later.

—

Supporting how I can, Starting up a DA group for art, stories, and concepts to be collectedhttp://city-of-titans.deviantart.com/
Please join up if you plan to make or collect CoT related art.

The slightly-built deliveryman paused at the door and glanced at his tablet and then back up at the building's address. The brown cardboard box under his arm was bulky, but not quite enough to make him use two hands. "Brady's Supers Gym. Clarkstown. Got it." He shrugged slightly and went inside.

The receptionist, Jessica, looked up from the security monitors at the desk. The UPS driver didn't seem out of the ordinary, but he was kind of cute, in that tousle-haired, smiling-eyes kind of way she liked. "Hi there. Delivery?"

"Yep, umm... Jessica." He read her name badge. "I've got a package for someone named 'Senet-Ra' for this address. Not sure why it goes here instead of the business address, though." He put the box on the counter.

"Huh. She's here. I'll page her, if you need a signature." The driver nodded. Jessica slipped on her telephone headset and clicked the intercom. Her voice rang out clearly in the boxing area. "Senet, you have a UPS delivery at the front desk. Please contact the desk."

The driver leaned casually against the desk, smiling at the receptionist. "Thanks, Jessica. Most of the time, I just drop and go, but some deliveries are more interesting. A break from the routine." He glanced at her left hand. No wedding ring. His smile brightened a notch and she blushed.

"No problem! Happy to help. If there's one thing this place isn't, it's routine. You know my name, but what's yours?"

"Ken. Ken Tanner. Master delivery driver and dodger of potholes, expediter of packages, and savior of nearly-elapsed deadlines. I also walk dogs."

Jessica giggled. "Pleased to meet you, Ken." She shook her head and chuckled at herself, then wrote her name and number on the back of one of the gym's business cards and slid it across the desk to him. "I'd like to know more, when you're off work."

The driver tipped his UPS brown cap and nodded. He flipped the card rapidly along and between his fingers and it disappeared. "Absolutely, pretty lady."

—

A Wing and a Prayer, A Strong, Strong Wind, All Forests are One - Venture City metahuman novels in the spirit of City of Heroes and other comic book superhero fiction. (http://bit.ly/sdpbooks)

((Ok, assuming that Xselsier's character has been moving with Senet-Ra on that tour.))

Once they'd gotten around the gym and back to the desk, Senet-Ra nodded and picked up the card. "We're mainly looking forward to getting a stable crew together," She said as they walked by. Looking to Sam, "I hope your ready, because I just spotted Edfu heading to the training room."

They were halfway to it when the page came. "Go on ahead, he won't start without me." She left Sam's side and went back up to the desk, Candlelight's card still in her hand. Once she got up to the desk, she smiled at the driver. "So, my kindle came in?" She asked, looking to sign for the package. "We don't have much set up for the shipping address just yet, so Brady's has been getting our stuff. I will love it when we finally get a receptionist to man our desk when we're out on a job. It'll give Jessica and Old Man Brady less of a workload than normal to worry about. We're also looking for a Delivery driver, but we have to require than they have some sort of powers to defend themselves and the cargo with. If you know any that're not the stealing type, friendly, and are looking to use their powers in work instead of just hide them, let me know." She pulled a card from the band of her skirt with the Psychopomp and Circumstance logo and their contact information. "Tell 'em also we're aiming to pay a sustainable wage and we've got health benefits, too."

The delivery driver studied the card. "Egyptian, cool. I like Bast, Isis, and Thoth, myself." He looked up at Senet-Ra with a curious expression. "So, you just do dangerous logistics? Take stuff from point A to Point B safely and drop it off? What's the 'retrieval' part about?"

—

A Wing and a Prayer, A Strong, Strong Wind, All Forests are One - Venture City metahuman novels in the spirit of City of Heroes and other comic book superhero fiction. (http://bit.ly/sdpbooks)

"Bast is my spiritual mother, and I am among her many chosen. Aset and Djehuty I don't have as much contact with, save my studies," Senet-Ra said. "Yes, it's one of our specialties, though we don't discriminate much against our customers. The only thing we won't do is human trafficking. I don't care for that. The retrieval part is very much like the anime Get Backers, if you've seen it. Say you have something or someone that was stolen from you, and you can't go to the police to get them or it back. You can come to us and we'll track them or it down for you, and retrieve it, defending them or it until you come pick 'em up at the office. We charge reasonable rates, depending upon the danger forecasted, with a range of payment plans. To me, it's one of the ways to serve Bast and put food on my table in the process."

"Ooh, extraction and delivery!" the UPS driver said with appreciation. "Sounds worthy. In that case, I will definitely drop a good word in a couple of ears. Glad to have run across you, Ma'am. If I can be of service, I certainly will."

He winked at Jessica, gave a jaunty nod of his ginger-haired head, and turned to go.

—

A Wing and a Prayer, A Strong, Strong Wind, All Forests are One - Venture City metahuman novels in the spirit of City of Heroes and other comic book superhero fiction. (http://bit.ly/sdpbooks)

Sam had signed the waiver Jessica handed him and then followed Senet-Ra, listening as she gave him a quick tour, then waiting as she spoke to the cocky English guy and the delivery driver. Once she was done with those activities, he spoke up.

"Senet-Ra, I do have one question. What is the policy on heroic activities when we're off the clock?"

—

Putting yourself in another persons shoes emotionally is something that everyone has to experience eventually. It's part of learning to be a human being. Roleplayers do it for fun.

Senet looked back to Sam as the UPS guy left. "As long as it doesn't destroy company property or hinder your performance at work, it's your free time, use it how you see fit," She said. "Though some of our more recent retrieval missions had heroic aspects to them."

"T'ing they'll call?" Ian had an oversized lollipop in his mouth. Sara threw something from the kitchen area at him. "Maybe if you had explained yourself a bit better Ian. Instead you decided to act like... like..."
'Meself?"
"YES! You decided to act like yourself. Heavens knows if I didn't love your pompous ass I would kill you!" Sara came out. She was in shorts and well.. not much else. The five finger sized scars over her heart clearly visible. Ian winced, he had to do it at the time, but he knew nowadays the scars would be smaller, lighter, easier to hide.
Quite literally like a flash Ian was behind his wife and had scooped her up planting a kiss on her neck. "Tey will call when the water gets hot. I'll get the best contract that way. You know des people don't do much one time gig work. If Imma work with them we got to make sure the price is right. Tey always call Sara, the smart ones call before anyone dies."

Ian carried her over to the couch at a normal speed and unceremoniously dumped her on it. He turned on the tele and lept onto the couch. Laying his head in her lap he smiled at her. All the pomp and swagger gone from his face, just genuine affection remained.

—

Supporting how I can, Starting up a DA group for art, stories, and concepts to be collectedhttp://city-of-titans.deviantart.com/
Please join up if you plan to make or collect CoT related art.

Senet led Sam to the concrete and steel sparring room (or as a lot of the regulars had come to call it, the "go nuts" room). Inside was a network of obstacles big and small, with several open areas. In the middle and biggest open area, stood a man, about 6'1", with a build that could put a Roman legionnaire to shame. His skin was silver and decorated with royal blue tribal style markings all over his body. He had a pair of silvery-white wings that seemed to have an ethereal quality to them, as well as eerily sky blue eyes that seemed to glow just a tad. His style of dress was simple; a white loin skirt with a royal blue loin drape, golden leather sandals that wrapped around to his knee, gold sets of armlets, and cuffs, and a golden collar with an Eye of Heru on it. He even had the Eyes of Heru kohl in a deep blue, similar to Senet's. What wasn't similar is that his head was shaven, except for his eyebrows and a small dark brown soul patch under his bottom lip.

"Ah, finally," He said in a baritone voice, "I was wondering what took you two so long."

"Got held up by the Kindle delivery," Senet said and showed him the box. "Hopefully the Square'll show up within the next few days."

Edfu nodded. "We'll have to drop that off at the office later. You know where to put it. Now Sam, are you ready?"

Senet shook her head. "Always jumping the gun..." She touched Edfu, said something in Late Egyptian, then touched Sam and said almost the same thing. It would feel like a cat's paw had been placed on the spot for a split second, then as she removed her hand, like a cat was watching the person. "I just placed a minor vitals watching spell on each of you. I'll be sitting on the rafters and watching the battle from up there. The rules of the fight are thus: you each have five minutes to try to knock out your opponent or make them forfeit the match. No head or crotch shots, travel powers only up to the yellow line, which is the highest for sparrers. Any out of bounds and you'll be disqualified. Otherwise, keep it clean, this is a friendly match, not a EoDE-3 mission. Time starts as soon as I get settled up in the rafters." She cast her flying spell, threw a time number up onto the scoreboard, and as it glowed green, began her ascent up the 50 feet to the rafters.

He briefly stepped out of the ring, kicked his sneakers and socks off, and changed from the jeans to a pair of loose shorts he'd bought from a desk just outside the "go nuts" room. Sam thought it was rather ingenious of them to sell spare clothes for anyone who'd be practicing in the sparring room.

He laced up the shorts and stepped back into the ring, the dull amber glow of psychic energy forming around him before snapping into the shape of his armor. He grinned and nodded to Edfu and waited for Senet to start the match.

—

Putting yourself in another persons shoes emotionally is something that everyone has to experience eventually. It's part of learning to be a human being. Roleplayers do it for fun.

Edfu shook Sam's hand, though he seemed to be unaccustomed to the gesture, then watched Senet go up to the rafters. When she was up to the yellow line, he started a small arm stretch. "She always takes a while to get settled," He said.

Once Senet got up to the rafters, she said something in Late Egyptian, picked a choice rafter to sit on, did the best she could to get comfortable and not show her underwear, then took her staff and shook it in a 3, 2, 1 beat. At the go, she called "Sekhmet-Mut, siwy!" and a blast of sound like a royal lionness victorious rang out, hitting the time illusion and starting the clock. She then let her staff float back to its resting position and pulled up the vital screen illusions for both men.

In mid-stretch, Edfu smirked at the spell, reached to his back and as it hit the timer, pulled out a pair of khopeshes rapidly. One seemed to be a sky blue blade with a silver hilt, the other, a sapphire with white streaks reminiscent of lightning on the blade with a golden hilt. He pushed off quite quickly, which was surprising for a guy of his size, and swung at Sam.

Through direct interaction with Edfu and through Senet-Ra's teasing, Sam had noticed that Edfu was a rather impatient fellow. As such, Sam had expected Edfu to immediately go on the offensive. He wasn't disappointed.

As Edfu charged, Sam crouched and leaped, flipping over Edfu's head. However, midway through the flip, he fired two elastic strands back the way he had come. They stuck to the wall and arrested his momentum, then yanked him back like a bungee cord. As he flew back over Edfu's head, he unloaded a two-footed kick towards Edfu's face, then flipped gracefully again and made a three-point landing about ten feet from Edfu.

He flicked his hands and produced two strands that were flexible like a bullwhip and had ends that were bulbed. He spun them through an infinity loop, then flicked his hands and sent them flying at Edfu's torso, the bulbed ends glowing with concussive energy that would erupt on impact.

—

Putting yourself in another persons shoes emotionally is something that everyone has to experience eventually. It's part of learning to be a human being. Roleplayers do it for fun.

Kisya D’Amico, known in some circles as “Hostile Secretary,” sneered at the local reality show on one of her screens and sipped her coffee. With her left hand she absent-mindedly flicked her fingers at the other eleven monitors, sorting out the endless streams of data that were pouring into the espionage group’s containment server. Her boss wanted to know as much about Titan City as possible and the easy slicing jobs had already started paying off. No matter whether the group ended up working for money or ideals, they would find ways to make it pay. Kisya’s boss was a softy. He would frequently blow off a really profitable assassination or extraction contract and end up saving the target. Or, worse yet, turn it into an expensive opportunity to give the target an untraceable new life free from danger. Still, he was the boss, and he always managed to pull some sort of profit out of the deal. But ultimately Kisya’s own two driving questions were, “How much work is this going to mean for me?” and “What am I getting paid for this?”

The current priority was to get tied into enough different groups and databases to know what was going to happen before anyone else did. With that going on, Curiosity Kilz would be able to pick and choose its missions and opportunities. That was the key to profit—knowing any secrets worth knowing, and being in the right place at the right time to exploit them fully. Kisya wasn’t a tabaxi, like most of the CK team, but she certainly fit in with those alien felines in their love of secrets. Sure, she was supernaturally shrill and had uncanny metabolic control over herself and others, but mutants with powers like hers weren’t that hard to come by. The real reason the leggy, olive-skinned brunette held her own within the espionage group was that in addition to her more obvious powers, she was an absolute administrative genius. She could make computer networks sit up, roll over, and play dead. She could write a dozen legal contracts at once without putting a single semi-colon out of place. She manipulated corporate procedures and hierarchies as if they were Lego blocks. And, on top of it all, she made a mean cup of coffee.

So, when her original Earth dimension was destroyed by an unstoppable alien menace, Curiosity Kilz took her with them. The catlings returned to their home dimension and spread some of their wealth around making nice situations for themselves. Kisya enjoyed her escape and indulged herself in luxury for a while. But, even the best that the weird amalgamation of Renaissance and high-tech culture that her companions lived in couldn’t satisfy her need to “do something” for long. When her boss, Kartanian, suggested that Curiosity Kilz follow up on some new leads, Kisya was ready to go.

That led to her current situation. A new dimension, a new Earth of some sort, a new history to get to know, new sides to analyze and alliances to be made, and many new secrets to uncover and exploit. Kartanian and his senior agents were doing most of the field work, but Kisya did get to spend some time exploring this “Titan City.” She snickered at the coincidence. The superhero group that Curiosity Kilz did most of its previous business with on her original Earth had been called the “League of Titans.”

Between advanced technology and pure skill, the slicing—they called it “hacking” here, like on her own Earth—that the tabaxi had done was easily drawing out and providing megapulses of data for analysis. Kartanian had already compromised the networks of delivery firms like UPS and FedEx. He was using package deliveries as a cheap and easy way to explore a variety of opportunities. Kisya expected him back soon from a delivery to an unusual metahuman team in Clarkstown.

She wondered if he would remember to pick up fresh coffee beans on his way back. She was running out of her favorite Peruvian roast.

—

A Wing and a Prayer, A Strong, Strong Wind, All Forests are One - Venture City metahuman novels in the spirit of City of Heroes and other comic book superhero fiction. (http://bit.ly/sdpbooks)

Edfu barely missed being hit by Sam's kick, and only the second bulb hit, as he parried the first. He didn't seem to take as much damage as he could have as he rolled with the concussive force back into one of the boulders surrounding the arena. Once he stopped reeling from the blast, he took to the air, getting maximum allowed height before circling around into a dive aimed at Sam's back.

Once he got within range, he would do a last second correction, and slash with his right kopesh, hoping to hit before coming back around for another pass to use the left one.

Sam lost Edfu for just a second as he went airborne. He spun, looking for him, which gave Edfu the opportunity he needed to hit with his first strike. Feeling the blow across his shoulders, Sam rolled forward and came back to his feet. He turned and faced Edfu's oncoming charge, his arms coming up. At the last second, Sam shot two elastic strands up into the rafters and they hauled him up above Edfu's flight path. He released the strands almost immediately and dropped onto Edfu's broad back. Tendrils shot out from his feet and wrapped around Edfu's lower abdomen, anchoring Sam in place.

Sam shot two strands over Edfu's shoulders and they latched onto the mat. He hauled on them suddenly, attempting to redirect Edfu's flight path into the ground.

—

Putting yourself in another persons shoes emotionally is something that everyone has to experience eventually. It's part of learning to be a human being. Roleplayers do it for fun.

Edfu felt Sam land on him and saw the strands go towards the ground, but flipped over onto his back and closed his wings at the last second so where Sam was the one taking the brunt of the fall. He was suprisingly heavy for a guy that could fly. He sliced through the elastic that bound him to Sam and flipped back up onto his feet. "Heka Kheperu!" he said, activating the oxygen-draining heka of the sword that hit Sam, which had lain latent in the wound. He spun around, pointing his left sword at Sam. "Had enough?"

Sam was able to react at the last second and release his hold on Edfu, then leapt forward as Edfu flipped. It was a desperate move and the bulk of Edfu's body still landed on Sam's legs. However, it was better than a 30 mile per hour faceplant. As he scrambled to his feet and spun to face Edfu, he felt lightheaded and the wound across his shoulder's burned. He looked up at Edfu and realized that he could feel the air draining from his lungs. He managed to croak out, "Yesss...." slapping his own thigh at the same time.

—

Putting yourself in another persons shoes emotionally is something that everyone has to experience eventually. It's part of learning to be a human being. Roleplayers do it for fun.

"Good," Edfu said. and nodded. "Heka hotep." The oxygen stopped seeping from Sam's wound as Edfu patted him on the back. The wound was still there, however. "You wouldn't have liked the other one's power either. Senet, you saw that?"

Senet-Ra jumped down from the rafters, and with a second to spare, activated Nut's gift to cushion her landing. "Yep," She said. "Edfu's the winner."

"I do see you're pretty capable Sam. You do have some rough spots in your defenses, but it's nothing a little practice and fieldwork won't fix. Heal him up, if you will. After that, Senet and I will talk a bit." His swords disappeared from his hands as he walked towards the door.

Senet gave Edfu an endearingly annoyed look and got behind Sam. "Well, he did put a good gash in you," She said and placed her hands lightly above the wound. "I didn't think he was going to pull the oxygen deprivation heka at first. Sekhmet seneb." Senet's hands began to glow and a warmth radiated through them, disinfecting and closing the wound within a few minutes. "You know, he does this because it's something about making sure his team mates are capable of protecting me or our cargo if he gets knocked out. He may be a snarky Shemsu-Heru, but he does care. And if you're wondering about the other blade's effects, he once got really angry with my computer and fried it. I'm glad I had the money to get a new one, but I was out of a computer for a week." Once the wound was healed, she took her hands off Sam's back and smiled slightly at him before going to talk with Edfu.

As Sam watched the two of them walk off, he reached back and scratched at the freshly healed skin along his shoulders. "It seems my psychokinetic armor isn't as effective at blocking magical attacks as it is against other things. Definitely need to remember that." he said to himself as he walked to the side of the ring and retrieved his socks and sneakers.

—

Putting yourself in another persons shoes emotionally is something that everyone has to experience eventually. It's part of learning to be a human being. Roleplayers do it for fun.

After spending a few minutes talking, Senet and Edfu reached an agreement. As Sam was walking out of the go nuts room, Senet swished her tail and motioned for him to come over. Edfu was back in hawk form, perching on the nearby unused barbell. "Well, you've got spunk hon," Senet said, "and your specialty seems to cover something ours doesn't, but ya definitely need help with defense against magic--heka and otherwise. That said, we'd love to have you on with P and C. I can help you cover your bases on the magic defense once we get back to the office to do the paperwork." She offered her hand for a handshake, wondering if all the interview had did to him would scare him off.

"You're welcome," Senet-Ra said with a smile and they started out of the gym and down the block. The office wasn't very far from the gym, maybe a block or so, and was set back from the street. It had a warehouse feel to it, especially with the delivery truck sitting out in front of it. The sign that was pasted on the door said 'out for interviews, be back in 2 hours'. It wavered a little bit with the passing wind as Senet pulled the keys out of thin air and opened the door. A little door opening bell sounded, as did the alarm system, which she promptly turned off. Edfu flew in before the door closed behind him and landed on a perch that was designed to look like a gnarled, dead tree by the receptionist's desk. He flipped on the light, and a small hallway to the right was revealed, leading to what appeared to be a few offices, a shut door, a small break room, and some stairs leading to the second floor.

Senet went down this hallway to the first office and sat behind the bare-bones desk, placing the kindle package on a small table beside her. Pulling out a folder from one of the drawers, she said "I'd been wondering when we'd get another crewmember on, it's been several weeks since we put up those flyers, but no one's really seemed right when they came for an interview. Either me being a nekojin, Edfu talking, or the classification system of our cargo has scared most off. Most of the rest have really just butted heads with Edfu, or that one guy with me." She set the folder on the desk in front of Sam, along with a bic pen she pulled from a holder by the monitor. "But that's them. Here's the paperwork, which includes your typical tax stuff, affadavits and such. I'm pretty sure you know the drill. Just ask if you need an explanation to any of it." She leaned back in her wheeled chair, seemingly relieved.

Holding a small box a slightly overweight man about 6 feet high and age of about 30 walked into the Psychopomp and Circumstance office looking a bit frightened as he went to the welcome desk. "Um.. yes I need to make an appointment. Got an item that has to be protected at all cost. er ... well do you do discounts for something that could cause the end of the world?"

—

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Personal rules of good roleplay
1.) Nothing goes as planned.
2.) If it goes as planned it's not good RP

Sam finished off the forms and slid the clipboard back onto Senet's desk. He stood up and stretched, having sat for over an hour reading the various contracts, safety / liability forms, and NDA's. He then looked down at Senet and smiled. "Anything else you need me to take care of?"

—

Putting yourself in another persons shoes emotionally is something that everyone has to experience eventually. It's part of learning to be a human being. Roleplayers do it for fun.

Senet shook her head. "All that's left is for me to file the tax stuff with the IRS and get you copies of the forms you signed for your records," She said and looked towards the hallway, hearing the door break. "You gonna get that, Edfu?" She took the clipboard off the desk and placed it on top of the side table, intending on filing it the next day.

"Fine," Edfu said from his perch. "Welcome to Psychopomp and Circumstance sir. We typically don't take appointments unless the danger level of the item is equivalent to DEFCON-3 or worse, but that does sound like something that we should schedule for."

"Excuse me for a second, I'll show you around in a few minutes," Senet said, then walked up to the welcome desk. "What exactly is it? We usually do pricing by the type of job, the danger level assessment and any existing intel on who may want it and what it is. As far as ending the world, we'll have to see. Is this a protection job you're looking for or a delivery job?"

"You heard about the big fight between some heroes and villains at the Museum? That Norse exhibit had a statue of Loki with a staff. This kind of hard to explain my family been watching over this thing for generations, in truth I was thinking of selling it when I saw the news report." He set the box down and opens it showing a dark grayish orb with streaks of yellow as if someone froze a thunderstorm and put it in a baseball size crystal ball. "This is part of a set of five such orbs... All I know is legions passed down with it. Nearly seven hundred years ago the Frost Giants came to Midgard and ravaged the lands. The Asgards came down and fought of the Giants and to prevent them from returning forged five magical orbs. If these orbs come together they could open the path for the Frost Giants again."

He shook his head "Like I said I didn't really believed it till I saw the news report about the attack at the Museum. That staff had an Orb like this one in it. Witnesses reported what could only be a Frost Giant... They be wanting this orb as well. Oh my name is Edward Bruun."

—

--------------------------------------------------------
Personal rules of good roleplay
1.) Nothing goes as planned.
2.) If it goes as planned it's not good RP

Sam listened to the man tell the story of the orb, then started as he realized that that was the fight Sarah had told him about. But he'd just signed P&C's NDA, which meant he couldn't tell her that there was another one here. He cursed to himself, then stepped out of the office, leaned against Senet's doorjamb, and continued to listen.

—

Putting yourself in another persons shoes emotionally is something that everyone has to experience eventually. It's part of learning to be a human being. Roleplayers do it for fun.

Senet's tail swished as she listened to Mr. Bruun's story. "I'm Senet-Ra," she said, "Edfu is the talking hawk, and Sam back there is our new hire. While I'm not an expert in Norse mythology, that sounds at least EoDE-3, if not bordering on 2. I think we can take it on with Sam assisting, but I'm a little concerned the orb'll react to my heka." She walked around to the back side of the reception desk and pulled out some papers, a clipboard, and a bic pen. "Top page is our pricing, which is fair and competitive to any of the other super powered movers in the city, second page is policies. The third and subsequent ones are the contract, if you do wish to use our services. It's to cover both our butt and yours on items like these." She handed him the clipboard, then the curiosity got the better of her, and she cast a simple light spell with the power of 40 lumens in her farthest hand to see how the orb would react.

"You know better than to test magical items," Edfu said. "Remember what happened in San Francisco when you did that with that one Greek item..."

"That was me being stupid and not keeping the spell away from the medallion, I didn't know it'd summon a firey chariot in the middle of the breakroom!"

"Let's hope this doesn't summon such a thing, but made out of electricity..."

It wasn't electricity or any manifestation. Instead it was a loud deep base sound so powerful the glass in the frames wobbled and seemed to be on the verge of braking when the sound stopped. "It never done that before. Thought my family has no magic at least for several hundred years. Might be wise to keep it in the box. Superposed to be protecting it too" Ed closed the box. He sat down and started on the paperwork wondering how he was going to pay for this. Perhaps he could take out a second mortgage on his home.

"Any idea where it can be taken to? Far as I care the middle of the ocean. Thought nowadays I bet someone can swim down to the bottom of that great trench Marianis.. whatever it's called."
--------------------------------------------------------------------

Somewhere else in the city the manager of the Dynasty Action house listened to his messages one of them caught his attention "Hello, yeah this is Edward Bruun. I have this family Heirloom that's an Orb. My number is 555-4268." Jutan Frost turned off the phone and smiled perhaps today was starting off good after all.

—

--------------------------------------------------------
Personal rules of good roleplay
1.) Nothing goes as planned.
2.) If it goes as planned it's not good RP

Senet quit powering the spell just before Ed closed the box. "We do have payment plans that while the terms are for a longer period than some loans, are affordable to even someone on a college student's budget," She said, somewhat reading his face. "I did that because back in San Fran our employer wouldn't compromise with people who had smaller budgets, and I didn't care for their stubbornness on that. It's one of the reasons why we left, besides the big one."

"I think we know a place where it can be transported to, if I can get in contact with my Lord," Edfu said and resettled his wings. "It'll take a while to prep, but it'll be worth it."

The next day, a man came into the tea house; tall and slender (about 215 cm and only 90 kilos), wearing blue jeans and a long brown coat over a tee shirt with a wireframe drawing of an F-16 printed on it. The sword at his right hip was only visible to those whose sight could penetrate the cloaking spell on the scabbard, or who were perceptive enough to notice the way it pushed the coat out on that side. His ears were slightly pointed, and his eyes showed slit pupils in the green iris. The manila folder in his right hand seemed so mundane as to be out of place. In a way, it was, as the resume within only covered the two decades of his life since he came to this universe, making no mention of the nearly four decades in Imperial service that had preceded his involuntary relocation. It didn't seem right to claim experience that prospective employers couldn't verify.

He spotted the hawk easily enough, and nodded to both the bird and the human lady. "Hello. My name is Val Fordan, and I'd like to apply for a job."

Standing beside Reuther and CP is the ever mysterious, alluring, yet unmistakably dangerous Contessa Nocturne, her usual attire replaced with a fully zipped trench coat with a subtle hint of metallic accents and armoring, the lower half a split leather and metal studded skirt over thigh high laced combat boots, in all a fashionable if not intimidating appearence coupled with her reputation. Her own powers steeped in magic, she is ever cryptic in her origins and seeks to leave it that way...

Keeping her presence masked for now, she whispers to the men before her...

"I suppose now we wait for the single? It has been far to long since I've intervened directly in such affairs, though I am looking forward to fighting alongside you."

She does so, allowing her eyes to pulse violet as she scans for any abnormal or unique auras, flagging them as superhuman if such is detected, as her own ward, attendant, and acolyte appears in a plume of verdant fire.

Wreathed in a skin revealing robe of brown leather and intricate patterns of woven bone, her French braid of pale blond hair trailing down her back, her features clearly German, her accent subtly less so as she speaks quietly...

"Greetings, I am Strife, her ward and...bodyguard." Chooses that last word carefully as she and the Contessa share a small smile, it is clear that the woman does not require such, as Strife adds...

"I will remain outside to hold our posistion if a rapid evacuation is needed...are there any objections?" States coldly but not with disrespect, she is clearly cool in nature.

It'd been a long day after the customer had come in. Senet had spent much of the time doing portable wards and them placing them on the safe. It was not only for the sphere's safety, but to make sure it didn't blow up the building. Edfu had been in meditation for several hours before grabbing dinner and going to sleep. Luckily, Senet's class was cancelled that day due to her professor's illness. They hadn't been sitting in the café an hour when the young man with the F-16 shirt had approached them.

Senet looked up and smiled. "It's good to meet you Val, I'm Senet-Ra, and the hawk beside me is Edfu," She said and offered her hand for a handshake. "What kind of position were you looking to apply for?"

Edfu looked like he was dozing, but then woke with a start. "Good news and bad news," he said to Senet. "My lord said that he'll be able to take the orb out of the material and into the Duat, where the exchange will happen."

"Okay, what's the bad news?"

"That it'll take four days to complete the ritual. We also owe him a huge favor that he'll see to collecting before the Kemetic new year, possibly on one of his feast days."

"That's a pretty big bad side. Did you already tell him we'd do it?"

Edfu nods. "It's already in the works. They're accounting for the wards and the orb's tendency to blast sound in reaction to magic in the transport. Expect to hear a low chanting from the safe for a few days."

"Security is my preference. I could do Receptionist, even though that's what I'd been doing too much of lately at my last job, which is why I let my partner buy me out, or Mover/Loader. I have no driver's license, so that position is right out. I have a concealed weapons permit for my sword, and I can teleport in stages across town in less than three minutes, or short distances very quickly, and I have some knowledge of sorcery." Val set the folder on the table. "I have here all the usually required documents."

"We do have an opening for mover/loader," Senet said and looks through Val's file. "Everything seems in order...please, have a seat."

"We do want to find out how your personality would mesh with our company," Edfu said then noticed the sword. "Ah a fellow swordplay enthusiast, this'll be interesting."

"...Anyways, how do you see yourself meshing with the company? I myself am a very knowledgeable person in magic, but my specializaton is about Ancient Egyptian magic, with only a few bits and pieces gained about other cultures' magic systems gained from my own work. Edfu is very knowledgeable in spiritual affairs."

Val made himself comfortable. "Mover/Loader shouldn't be too much of a problem for me. My strength is somewhat higher than most folks around here, though in the two decades I've lived in this town I've met a few that are a lot stronger than me. Without straining, I can handle up to about a half ton. I can't carry that much in a teleport, though. Anything over 150 kilos starts cutting down my range severely, and that cuts down my effective speed. More than about three hundred kilos, and I can't teleport at all. As for the magic, I've looked into some of the local systems, and the sorcery I learned the basics of back home seems most similar to the Hermetic systems that are popular with certain not-so-secret societies. I've also been studying a tome that comes from my homeworld, that seems to be somewhere between Vodoun and Shinto. I think it has my best chance for eventually getting home without causing problems either here or there."

"Also, you may have noticed the work permit. Eventually, perhaps in a few centuries, perhaps sooner, I will return home, and I do not wish to have sworn any oaths that would hinder that return or taking up whatever may remain of my old life. For this reason, I will not be seeking citizenship. That may make it difficult to get a security clearance for me if you have or seek contracts with the government that might require such clearances."

Val took off his swordbelt and laid it on the table, dropping the cloaking spell as he twisted the scabbard so that the edge was facing himself, and drew out the sword and set it beside the scabbard. The blade was about 37 inches long, and looked like that of a katana, except that the curvature was much less. The guard was a crossguard, and the hilt was nine inches long, ending in a ball-shaped pommel. To those who could perceive such things, the enchantments enhancing the durability and sharpness would be obvious.

"Alright then," Senet said and scanned the paperwork, "We do have non-disclosure agreements that come up, as it's the nature of our work, but they only pertain to what's being transported and how, not an ad infinitium everything about the practice. We don't normally get government contracts, but I wouldn't put it past them if we get big enough."

"I'm sure the company would be in capable hands at that point, but we're looking for the right now," Edfu said. "All employment contracts should be in effect only during employment, but I'm not a expert on human business law." He looked to Senet. "Maybe you should call Ami and ask."

Senet nodded. "We haven't had any huge deliveries recently, but it's good to have the capacity. Also, the coverage on the different magical systems should help diversify our classification system. Let me call Ami and see what she says on the contractual obligations here." She steps away from the table and pulls a mobile phone out of thin air.

Val pulled out a pen and a notepad from a pocket that should not have been deep enough for them, tore off a sheet, and wrote down a list of titles, authors, and a 1-to-10 scale of how useful he'd found the material. Crowley was at the bottom of the list, with a rating of 0.2, Budge had a 7...

Senet got the answering machine and left her question there before spotting Val's list. "You know, Budge was outdated in his own time with how Victorian his translations were," She said. "For current public access reading on the book of Going Forth by Day, Faulkner's translation is known to be better, albeit a bit dated. One of my old professors in San Fran was working on a new translation when we left."

"Did she pick up?" Edfu asked.

"Unfortunately not, so we'll have to wait until I get a call back. For all I know she might be trawling with Binara again."

"That's Lady Binara."

"Whatever. Anyways, I do like you, and I would like to move on to the next phase, but we gotta get that question answered first."

"Faulkner... I'll have to see if I can find his version, then. Although I never had much problem with Budge; I was still using a translation spell for English at the time. One of these days I'll look up the original, or at least a direct copy." Val made a note on his smartphone, then buckled his sword back on before setting back and enjoying his tea.